my pc used to have OS win98 se and upgraded it to win2k[all updated to this date] runs with AMD-K6tm w/multimedia extensions, 80MB RAM..

here are my most serious concerns about my pc:

1. any unauthorized user or restricted user[even guest] can get access to C: esp WINNT, program files and documents and settings which contains all the other folders for other users..admin account can even get penetrated..i tried loging in as guest and restricted user and i can get to open/move/modify/even delete files which belongs to other users esp. admin..my problem is how can i solve this vulnerabilities and tighten the security to deny restricted users or guests from getting access to other parts of winows which is supposedly restricted..

here are some srnshots
note: i am logged in as a restricted user and not as admin











there all those directories can easily get accesed!! IS THERE ANY WAY TO WORK THIS OUT so i can TIGHTEN its security and prevent from getting accessed by unauthorized/non-admin user???


2. after i installed an MS .NET framework UPDATE from microsoft, i was surprised when i saw a new user ASPNET which i never created..im having second thoughts whether or not to remove this user account..



3. folders or unnecessary files to be deleted?? in the Documents and Settings directory??

as you can see, there are existing folders of usernames/accounts which i previously removed..should i delete these user[already removed from users] folders??



and these are the curent active users


4. how can i modify settings for other users when i'm logged in as admin??

5.startup is taking waaay to slow..is it because of the programs that runs at start up like zonealarm/winpatrol/teatimer from spybot/ms antispyware?? or are there other unnecessary processes running at startup which can be disabled?? and if there are any..how can i disable them??





that's all my concerns about my pc as for now..


might i add: i have my pc secured for internet[LAN/CABLE] browsing in stealth[passed the test from https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 ] mode with zonelabs firewall..i have antispywares installed: ad-aware se/spywareblaster/zonedout n IE-spyad/spybot/ms antispyware/AVG/ewido sec. suite i have my pc using HOSTS file from mvps.org using HOSTS Secure..and other security/preventive measures both for IE and FIREFOX..

there..that's all the things i believe i have supplied to the best of my knowing..thou troubleshooting an dmanaging with pc is not my field i'd want to learn dealing w/ it..

thanks in advance..

As far as the slowness, it is because of the lack of RAM. Increase your RAM to 256mb min perferrably 512mb. If you are using SDram it is a cheap upgrade (about $60).

For the restriction of users you will need to be Administrator. Right click on C:\ drive and select sharing. Select Premissions. This (Under Administrator) you should have full right to make chances.

my apologies for being long to reply..been very busy at work..

anyways, ive been trying to work with the sharing and permissions on the drive c folder but i cant get to figure it out right..i logged in as admin and set the permissions like for users i set it to deny all access then logged out an dlogged in as user and see if i made it right but still i was able to open the C folder and even move/delete the dummy folder i made for the test..can you help me out with the proper way to fix this??

as for the upgrade, i tried to ask a IT tech. if i can still upgrade it to 256mb but her said it's no longer possible since my pc is already to old, one d earliest models of the compaq presario series around 1995..

I only feel comfortable with question 5.
Launching unneeded applications on boot can significantly slow down both your start time, as well as take up resources just hanging around waiting for someone to use them.
Since you have Spybot on your computer, use it's start-up tool to review and edit which applications launch on start-up. You may compare the items checked on the list with BC's Startup Database if you are unsure what the programs do or whether they are really needed.
Regards,
John

Too bad the IT person does not want to get involved.

Are your drives fat32 or NTFS?

Fat32 will not let Win2k provide the security that NTFS does.

Windows 2000 provides three groups whose membership is controlled by the administrator: Users, Power Users, and Administrators. The group whose membership is controlled by the operating system or domain is Authenticated Users. It is the same as the Everyone group, except that it does not contain anonymous users or guests.

Unlike the Everyone group in Windows NT 4.0, the Authenticated Users group is not used to assign permissions. Only groups controlled by the administrator, primarily Users, Power Users, and members of the Administrators group, are used to assign permissions. The default members of each group are listed below.

Local Group Windows 2000 Professional
Administrators
Power Users - Authenticated Users none
Users Authenticated

By default in Windows 2000, any authenticated user is a member of the Users group. Windows 2000 Power Users have all the capabilities that Windows NT 4.0 Users had. This ensures backward compatibility with Windows NT 4.0. If an administrator wants to implement higher security on a Windows 2000 computer, Authenticated Users should be made members of the Users group only.

When a Windows 2000 Professional or Server computer joins a domain, the same domain groups are added to the computer that were added to a Windows NT 4.0 computer. Domain Administrators are added to the local Administrators group and Domain Users are added to the local Users group.

zonealarm/winpatrol/teatimer from spybot/ms antispyware are not unnecessary!

You need those and an anti-virus ap as well as well as a firewall!!